On September 21, 2011 at 11:08 p.m., Brother Troy Davis was executed for the 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail. Before I go on, I must pay my respects to Officer MacPhail and his family. That man did not deserve to die as he was doing his duty breaking up a fight. His family did not deserve to lose their loved one to a senseless act of violence. I pray that your soul is resting beautifully with our Lord and Savior, Officer MacPhail.
With all due respect to Officer MacPhail and his family, this piece is about bringing the true offender of this crime to justice. I'm not sure that was done when Troy Davis was executed on 9/21/2011. Quite frankly, I don't think that the State of Georgia can say that they laid the true offender to rest themselves. In my opinion, the doubt that loomed over this case was large enough to not only not execute this man, but grant him a new trial. Instead, the State of Georgia unjustly (in my opinion) executed a man that was in all probability innocent. The more that I have learned about this case, the stronger I can say this with conviction.
The other reason I am writing this is because of the socially immature people that need to wake up. Since I have joined the social networking world, I've come to the realization that people: 1) don't know what's going on 2) don't wanna know what's going on 3) don't care what's going on. I realize that I dwell amongst a generation of people who are filled with a toxic combination of complacency and entitlement. The work that our ancestors started many years ago is still not finished. The torch has been passed to us to carry on with the fight. Problem is, many think that we've already won. If we continue on this path, the weed of complacency will strangle the life out of us.
As I read tweets on Twitter the day Troy Davis was to be executed, I became very angry at the ignorant mentality of a lot of folk. Many didn't care because in their words; they didn't know him, and it didn't concern them. If you remotely think that the blatant miscarriage of justice doesn't concern you, then you're sadly mistaken. Many people spoke, or, tweeted without any real knowledge of the situation at hand. You must understand that this could've been any one of us. The next time it can be me, you, my brother, cousin, or even any one of my sons. This is why it is imperative that we carry on the fight against an oppressed system.
As a black man, I've been profiled many times. I'm not flashy, don't wear my pants below my behind, don't wear bling, don't blast my music, don't have one tattoo or piercing. I'm an ordinary citizen just like many of you who actually has served this country called the United States of America. But I know that as long as my skin color stays this color, I will have to deal with certain things. Some will say; "why do you have to make it about color?" If you know me, then you know that I deal with facts. It is a fact that since Africans were brought to the New World (America) in the 1600's in the transatlantic slave trade, it has always been about color. As black men, we've dealt with this and swallowed the pill that you've (America) force fed us. Now it's time for America to swallow this man made elixir. Now let me get something else straight. Brothers: "The Man" cannot hold you down if you never fill out any job applications, or, apply to any schools. Some brothers use that; "the man is holding a black man down" excuse but are not actively pursuing a better life. And that is exactly what it turns out to be--an excuse.
If some of you don't think that color has played a part, ask the families of Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, James Byrd Jr., and Troy Davis. You can even ask the families of our white brothers Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner who were murdered with fellow civil rights worker and black man James Chaney in Mississppi in 1964. If you've seen the movie Mississippi Burning then you know what I am referring to.
People ask if I would feel the same if it were a white man. Of course I would! Injustice is injustice, no matter the race of the person. Problem is, who has historically been on the side of injustice? Ask the family of Sean Bell. A black man who was killed by NYPD as he and his friends left his bachelor party. Sean Bell and his friends were fired upon a total of 50 times when none of them had a weapon. Ask the families of the victims of the shootings on the Danziger Bridge in my hometown of New Orleans, LA after Hurricane Katrina. Six people were shot (all African-Americans), two were killed, in which one of them was Ronald Madison. Madison was a 40 year old mentally disabled man who was shot in the back while he was seeking safety. Ask the family of Oscar Grant. Grant was killed by a BART police officer in Oakland, CA. Grant was forced down by police, kneed in the neck, then shot by one of the officers. Grant was merely an unarmed citizen breaking up a fight. Instead, he ended up dying at the hands of a police officer. I know that these examples are of black men. But, it doesn't stop there. The poor and disenfranchised are subject to injustice as well--no matter what race or ethnicity you may be.
I must say that I still feel that our judicial system is the best around. But it is still flawed and imperfect. Is anything or anyone perfect? No! That doesn't mean that we should just accept a flawed system that jails and executes innocent citizens. Everyday that you get up, you strive to be better than the day before. That should be true of our judicial system as well. Who wants to get locked up for crimes that they didn't commit? Not me! Who wants to be executed for a crime they didn't commit? Definitely not me!
In Troy Davis' case, I believe that this man was innocent. The witnesses that have come forth changing or recanting their statements suggest so as well. I know that they're countless inmates in prison with claims of being innocent of the crimes that they have been charged with. I'm well aware that some or most of the them are full of it. But lets not be naive to the fact that there are not people sitting in jail/prison who are actually innocent. Of course there are! That isn't justice when an innocent individual is sitting in a cell for a crime that they didn't commit. Actually, that's a tragedy. Some have tweeted me on twitter for my beliefs in Troy Davis. Fact is, many people have been exonerated after sitting in prison for years after it came to light that the individual was actually innocent. So I, and all of the Troy Davis supporters out there are not crazy for supporting and believing in this mans innocence.
Please do not make the mistake of not educating yourself and your family on social issues. These issues do concern you and everyone around you. If you've ever been to any courthouse across America you would probably see Lady Justice with the scales even in her right hand and a blindfold over her eyes. This is to signify that justice is blind and it dishes out justice regardless of race, gender, or class. Be careful, because I think she's peeking over her blindfold.
~R.I.P. Troy Davis October 9, 1968-September 21, 2011 murdered by the State of Georgia by lethal injection.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Mirror That America Refuses To Look At
November 4, 2008 is a date that will forever be etched in my memory. It's the day that my father never thought he would've seen. It was the day that my father said that I would probably never see. And to be honest, as I matured in years, I started to believe that my father was right. But on that day, America elected Barack Hussein Obama as its 44th President, making him the first African-American to be elected President. Tears just streamed down my face as the montage and music played, showing various pictures of President-Elect Obama. That was by far my most proudest moment as a black man. Through my eyes, years of struggle, pain, oppression, feeling inadequate, and the sacrifice of so many of my ancestors became vindicated. It sent a message to little black boys (and girls) that we can be anything that we wanted to be.
But of course, when you become the first African-American President of the United States of America, you're going to encounter skepticism that probably no other man holding that position has had to endure. Even as Senator Obama promoted change to the face of this nation while campaigning, not everybody was ready for the change that was inevitable. In the documentary By The People: The Election of Barack Obama; there are parts where people (not African-Americans) were holding stuffed monkeys saying that they didn't want anybody who looked like that (referring to the monkey) running their country. I've heard many racial derogatory terms, but, when an African-American is referred to as a monkey or an ape, it does something to me. Reason being, is because it is meant to directly refer to us as less than, or, not human. I actually two-pieced (two punches to the face) a Spanish kid in Spain for calling me a monkey. I still remember the rage and the disrespect that I felt at that moment.
Throughout time, African-Americans have been viewed as inadequate by many in regards to performing certain jobs. We were, and still are to a degree, thought of as inferior intellectually. Even in sports, blacks have historically been deemed not fit to perform as quarterbacks, coaches, and in upper management positions. Not because they were evaluated and people came to these conclusions. But, just because of their skin color. We've come a long way, but still have so much farther to advance.
When Senator Obama burst onto the scene, it was clear that this guy was for real, and was a viable candidate for the presidency. He could articulate himself with the best and not sound like he was forcing himself to be who he was not. But many passed his expanded vocabulary and extraordinary use of diction as him using "fancy words." Being a black man myself, I find each day that we live a damn if you do, damn if you don't type of lifestyle. Yet, I pray that black men continue to strive for degrees from universities, rather than striving for prison sentences.
I understand that not all people are going to support President Obama, or even agree with some of his policies. I get that! But to dislike the man just because he is African-American is another thing. Let me say this--I learned a long time ago that if you have a fraction of African-American blood in you, then that's just what you are--African-American. That's just the way the world and society views you, at least. That's why I'll never refer to President Obama as half black or mixed. If it weren't true, then people wouldn't parallel President Obama to a monkey, being that he's half white. And if you haven't noticed, I make it a point to call him by his title--President Obama. I've never seen a president referred to (in the media) by just his last name as much as President Obama has been. Even the inept (in my opinion) President George W. Bush received more respect in that regard.
Speaking of respect. What president has been blatantly disrespected such as our current president? I'll answer that for you--NO ONE! What president do you know that has been called a liar as he addressed Congress and the Nation by his own people? What president do you know that has been called a tar baby? I don't care how anyone tries to dress it up or explain it. The phrase tar baby is a racial reference--PERIOD! I commend President Obama how he has handled these things because Lord knows that I would be beside myself.
I do not think that President Obama is a perfect man by far. But, the time has come for America to look itself in the mirror to fix its blemishes. I know that the mirror can be revealing. But how can you know what needs to be fixed until you look that mirror face on? America is indeed the greatest place in the world to call home. Still America still has great faults, and a history that cannot be ignored. The time for atonement is now! As an American, one thing that saddens me is that not all Americans look upon each other with love. I know that I may never see it, but, my prayer is for color to be abstract from one's view totally. We are a nation of many cultures, ethnicity's, and races. That's what makes America a wonderful and such a unique place to call home. Why can't we live and love each other totally?
"God has a way of standing before the nations with judgement, and it seems that I can hear God saying to America; you're too arrogant, if you don't change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power and I'll place it in the hands of a nation that doesn't even know my name. Be still and know, that I'm God.' ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
But of course, when you become the first African-American President of the United States of America, you're going to encounter skepticism that probably no other man holding that position has had to endure. Even as Senator Obama promoted change to the face of this nation while campaigning, not everybody was ready for the change that was inevitable. In the documentary By The People: The Election of Barack Obama; there are parts where people (not African-Americans) were holding stuffed monkeys saying that they didn't want anybody who looked like that (referring to the monkey) running their country. I've heard many racial derogatory terms, but, when an African-American is referred to as a monkey or an ape, it does something to me. Reason being, is because it is meant to directly refer to us as less than, or, not human. I actually two-pieced (two punches to the face) a Spanish kid in Spain for calling me a monkey. I still remember the rage and the disrespect that I felt at that moment.
Throughout time, African-Americans have been viewed as inadequate by many in regards to performing certain jobs. We were, and still are to a degree, thought of as inferior intellectually. Even in sports, blacks have historically been deemed not fit to perform as quarterbacks, coaches, and in upper management positions. Not because they were evaluated and people came to these conclusions. But, just because of their skin color. We've come a long way, but still have so much farther to advance.
When Senator Obama burst onto the scene, it was clear that this guy was for real, and was a viable candidate for the presidency. He could articulate himself with the best and not sound like he was forcing himself to be who he was not. But many passed his expanded vocabulary and extraordinary use of diction as him using "fancy words." Being a black man myself, I find each day that we live a damn if you do, damn if you don't type of lifestyle. Yet, I pray that black men continue to strive for degrees from universities, rather than striving for prison sentences.
I understand that not all people are going to support President Obama, or even agree with some of his policies. I get that! But to dislike the man just because he is African-American is another thing. Let me say this--I learned a long time ago that if you have a fraction of African-American blood in you, then that's just what you are--African-American. That's just the way the world and society views you, at least. That's why I'll never refer to President Obama as half black or mixed. If it weren't true, then people wouldn't parallel President Obama to a monkey, being that he's half white. And if you haven't noticed, I make it a point to call him by his title--President Obama. I've never seen a president referred to (in the media) by just his last name as much as President Obama has been. Even the inept (in my opinion) President George W. Bush received more respect in that regard.
Speaking of respect. What president has been blatantly disrespected such as our current president? I'll answer that for you--NO ONE! What president do you know that has been called a liar as he addressed Congress and the Nation by his own people? What president do you know that has been called a tar baby? I don't care how anyone tries to dress it up or explain it. The phrase tar baby is a racial reference--PERIOD! I commend President Obama how he has handled these things because Lord knows that I would be beside myself.
I do not think that President Obama is a perfect man by far. But, the time has come for America to look itself in the mirror to fix its blemishes. I know that the mirror can be revealing. But how can you know what needs to be fixed until you look that mirror face on? America is indeed the greatest place in the world to call home. Still America still has great faults, and a history that cannot be ignored. The time for atonement is now! As an American, one thing that saddens me is that not all Americans look upon each other with love. I know that I may never see it, but, my prayer is for color to be abstract from one's view totally. We are a nation of many cultures, ethnicity's, and races. That's what makes America a wonderful and such a unique place to call home. Why can't we live and love each other totally?
"God has a way of standing before the nations with judgement, and it seems that I can hear God saying to America; you're too arrogant, if you don't change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power and I'll place it in the hands of a nation that doesn't even know my name. Be still and know, that I'm God.' ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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